House Maid Wanted
by AppleL0V3R
Summary: <html><head></head>Mini Story. Five-shot. Sent on a solo mission she found herself protecting the wrong king and belonging inside arms other than Konoha's boarders. KonaSaku. AyaHyu.</html>
1. Protect

**Title:** House Maid Wanted

**Author:** AppleL0V3R

**Beta-reader:** Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night

**Fandom:** 07 Ghost and Naruto

**Pairing:** Warren, Konatsu and Haruno, Sakura

**Chapter:** One – Protect

**Rating:** T

**Type:** Mini-Story – Incomplete

**Summary:** Sent on a solo mission she found herself protecting the wrong king and belonging inside arms other than Konoha's boarders.

**Word Count:** 5,960

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** I do hope you read the entire summary before clicking on the story title, but if you did not then I hope you bother to read it hear. There will be AyaHyu, and not just mentions of it so if you don't like BL then I suggest you click the back button. I thought I should give fair warning to this considering the main pairing and all the other ones that appear in here will be hetero.

Also, the scene where Ayanami confronts the King is almost exactly as it is in the manga (words, actions and reactions); I didn't see any reason to change them since I wasn't altering this scene in any way, with the exception of the scant additions of my own. But I will put that it came from Chapter 26: Antwort, pages 18-22 so that due credit is given where it belongs and I'm not plagiarizing.

I know it is Michael as the manga goes on (and I know that it is correct), but I like the spelling Mikhail, so I'm keeping that one.

* * *

><p>She stared out over the horizon on the frozen land. This place always had snow covering everything and when it wasn't falling it was because the temperature was too cold for it. Sakura herself had never been one for cold, but since she wasn't particularly adverse to it she didn't mind it all too much. And she was already used to it at any rate. She'd been here for a month already, and would continue to be here for at least another five. She didn't think they'd be long either, at least not any longer than her day to day life in Konoha's walls had been.<p>

She was a long way from home, too. Thousands of feet above ground level and even more in miles to the east of Konoha. She wasn't sure how someone from here had stumbled upon Konoha considering no one else outside the shinobi nations even knew shinobi actually existed or in the numbers that they did. Sakura had decided not to mention where she came from. Thankfully she didn't have to learn a new language either, not really. The majority of the people here spoke what they called the Barsburg language and most of the slaves spoke the Raggs language. Her reason for being here was bilingual, but he seemed to prefer the Barsburg language more and so she had stuck to that when speaking to him. Apparently she spoke the Barsburg one and had learned enough of the Raggs to be mostly fluent in it.

She had to admit, learning a new language had been fun and interesting. It reminded her of all the little things in the world and the common words she didn't think twice about using. The Haruno hadn't made very many friends, but that's not why she was here anyway. The friends she had made were usually in her spare time – when she wasn't double checking reports or sitting just outside the king's door, which tended to took up most of her time and energy as it was – and nearly all of the closer ones were slaves.

She'd been horrified by the knowledge that people were being used as combat slaves here, but the twin boys she usually spoke to had assured her that it was quite alright, the whole thing and been happening for around ten years now and there wasn't much of a difference to them. Her green eyes had softened and her heart ached at those words, because only those who wouldn't know better would say that. To be content with such treatment was mindboggling to Sakura, who had learned to hold her head high and refuse to bow it to anyone for anything – with the exception of her Hokage, though even that had become forced rather than natural. But knowing that there was nothing she could do about it – it wasn't her place nor her mission, it wasn't like she held sway over the right people anyway – she had backed off and tried to accept the fact as it was. She still wasn't able to, but she was able to push it to the corner of her mind every time she looked at them and that made it easier to not show pity for boys who didn't think they needed it.

The twins' names were Suzunami and Yukinami and she found she liked their opposing temperaments. Suzu, the older of the two, was outspoken and always asking questions while Yuki was cautious to make sure there was no danger as well as the one who tried to keep his brother in line. It had been amusing when she first meet them only a few days after coming to this snow covered place. No sooner had she stepped out of the King's chambers and headed down the hall to continue familiarizing herself with the place has she run into them, Suzu had asked rather loudly if her hair color was natural and who was she. She'd paused and turned to look him in the eye and tilted her head, telling him that she didn't know enough of his language to even understand his question. Someone close by had translated for her and she'd nodded, keeping the words and pronunciation in mind as she answered the boy who looked to be being scolded by the lighter hair colored boy beside him. The two were her main source of furthering her knowledge in the Raggs language as well as the few officers who were bilingual and didn't mind helping out from time to time. And she had settled into this place pretty easily, just like she had everywhere else she'd ever been that wasn't hostile territory.

But, inevitably, she mostly stayed around the king, sometimes in his throne room, or his chambers and sometimes at the door. That was her mission, to guard a king who was certain that sooner or later the Barsburg Empire would come after Antwort and he wanted her as insurance that he wouldn't die in the process.

Her feelings towards him were neutral considering he was her client essentially and she knew it would be better if she was more focused on getting the job done rather than who was involved. But she knew he was a greedy sort of king – there didn't seem to be any other in her book – who didn't want to lose his treasure and was too spineless to face death head on. It funny in that mirthless sense, how it seemed it was the people in power who were supposed to be brave and strong turned out to be the most cowardly and weak.

Well, she supposed there were most certainly exceptions, but her view of leadership had been skewered ever since Danzo had become the Rukodiame Hokage. Because she was more than aware that the previous five had not been like this king is, that Gaara and É and Mei weren't like that either. But lately, she'd wondered if Konoha would ever regain a leader like it's previous ones. Not with Danzo in such full control, it was possible that his hand picked successor would be just like him, in fact it was almost assured.

But that wouldn't be her problem to think about for another five or so months. And since it wasn't, she really didn't want to think about it

Currently, she was next to the door of the King of Antwort, staring out at the tundra weather that came with this place. It was beautiful and it reminded her of Yukigakure no Sato. The mission flashed through her mind of why they'd originally been there, she gave a soft smile at all the memories. Back then the world had seemed straight; Sasuke hadn't betrayed them, Naruto wasn't gone, and Kakashi was infallible to her. Team Seven was still a strong team, and it was showing all the signs of one of those lifetime bonds that was so rare in their profession. In some ways, it hurt to remember, but just like all the other nuances that reminded her of her past from time to time, she smiled and appreciated the memory but eventually pushed it aside. She'd promised each and every one of them, vowing on their graves that she would always move forward. She would never try to get herself killed, she wouldn't wallow in self-pity and doubt and regret and pain.

So here she was. Trying to move on. She felt empty inside, a part of her waiting to be filled again even though she knew she never would. Personally, she thought this was a pointless mission. Who would attack an impenetrable defense? No one without proper means and a lot of confidence and no arrogance. Not even Konoha would attack a fortress like this one. It wasn't impossible, but without due cause, it was unnecessary. But still, the King was clearly paranoid and so she was here. Not that she quite minded, a whole new place, with new people and a new language. On top of that, it would accomplish good relations between Konoha and Antwort. She didn't see the downside to this mission.

Not then anyway.

And then she was on her feet in a flash – all idle thought gone in moments – yanking open the door to the King's room within the space of a split second. She didn't go further than a few steps in, but already she could see fright overtaking the elder man's wrinkled features as they zeroed in on her. He'd heard the alarms too.

Taking a deep breath she summoned her most calming tone, she didn't need him panicking on her. "Your Majesty –"

Still he was frantic. "They're here, they're coming."

"They won't reach you." She answered, confidence and cool professionalism in every fiber of her being. She didn't know what she was facing, and a niggling voice in the back of her mind told her that any opponent that could sound those alarms were going to be formidable. But she was no pushover, not after so many years of hard earned strength and power in her attempts to keep pace with her team.

He gulped and glanced at the closed door then back at her, "Are you sure?"

"There is no absolute certainty." Her voice was quiet, but full of conviction, something she'd learned from Itachi. "You know the facts just as well – better even – than I do. But I'm confident in my own abilities."

She realized the scant month she'd been there must have instilled something in him, because he calmed just enough at those words. But even so, fear shook his voice as he spoke his next words, "You'd better be right, because it is not just my life that will be lost if you are wrong."

Green eyes blinked in surprise and something inside her twisted uncomfortably. As she left the room just as quick and easily as she entered that same voice whispered the name of her feeling. Foreboding. But she swallowed it, telling herself that no matter what, she could do this. She had to do this. The medic kept on her feet, settled on the balls of them, body almost tense as she waited.

Surely no one would reach this far in though, right? All of Antwort's forces stood between her and the large strong wall that made this place so hard to invade. But she refused to relax, to be lulled by any sort of logic because in her experience, logic held no place on the battlefield. Especially when one did not know what they were against. Something told her that this would not be like a board game, strategy would only get her so far; it was instincts that would get her through.

Her eyes kept between all the entrances, making sure she stood directly in front of the door and that no one could sneak past. She stayed completely still, careful that even her own breath was completely silent and her stomach didn't move with each inhale and exhale. It was all so second nature to her, she didn't even need to think about it, she merely slid straight into that frame of mind.

For several moments, she stayed like that, moving so little that she could pull off a statue imitation. Sakura forced herself not to hold her breath, a habit she'd never completely gotten rid of but hadn't been a problem in the past and she didn't foresee it being one any time soon either. She continued to hold completely still for what seemed like hours, but she knew couldn't have been more than ten or twenty minutes.

But that was all she had to wait.

Because suddenly the large twin doors that led into the room just before the King's chambers were pushed open as if they were simple wooden flaps. Right in the middle of them was only one man, his body covered in a black ankle-length coat that had golden trimmings on his chest, sleeve cuffs and neck guard along with a golden mantel showing a the Barsburg insignia and on his other shoulder was showed that he was not only decorated but high in rank – if her limited knowledge of the Barsburg uniform was correct – as well as plain black pants. He wore a similar hat, decorated with the military insignia as well. Black boots covered his feet and white gloves encased his hands. What caught her attention the most though, was his pale purple hair and violet eyes that seemed to be without pupils. His hair made him seem almost ghost like, along with the pale complexion of his skin, but his eyes and jaw told a different story. They were strong and defined, she could see pride and confidence in them just as clearly as she could see it in his straight to the point of rigidness back and squared shoulders.

She didn't dare take so much as a step forward. His presence was almost as stifling, and it made her completely wary. For just one man to make it this far, and especially with those decorations on his shoulder, she knew he had to be strong. That he had reason to have pride in each step as he drew nearer. Finally he stopped almost three quarters of the way into the room, eyes having never once left her person.

Sakura felt herself incline her head to him almost politely in her acknowledgement, but refused to remove her eyes from his person. There was only one man in the entire world she would have never dared to meet his eyes at while he stood on the opposite of the battlefield, and he was dead. But this one was no less intimidating, and she was willing to bet, no less strong. And if that was true, then she wasn't walking away from this. Not alive anyway.

He didn't take his eyes off her either as he reciprocated the gesture.

"You are here for the man behind this door, I assume?"

"And you have no intention of stepping aside." It wasn't a question. Again she was reminded of that man from what seemed to be a lifetime ago; she wondered where the similarities between this man and Itachi ended.

She shrugged, allowing a nonchalant smile, "I agreed to be his bodyguard. My life forfeit, before anyone dangerous gets even so much as a glimpse of him."

Sakura knew with that response and the way his eyes narrowed almost thoughtfully, that he wasn't going to push the subject. After all, she'd as much as declared that he'd have to kill her if he wanted to get the King. And as a militant, she knew he would do so if he had to.

So, she shifted subtly, putting more of her weight on the balls of her feet and letting her body fall into an almost defensive sort of posture. By the end of the fourth shinobi war, she'd adopted the habit of never taking offense first unless she absolutely had to. She would not charge into any fight – especially not with one that made her so wary as the man before – without knowing what she was getting into.

She yanked her arm up as she found herself proven correct not a moment later; a leather whip wrapped itself around her forearm in a clear show of constriction and control. Her mouth pressed into a thin line and she shifted into a more solid stance, whatever he was planning to do next, she would be ready. He pulled almost harshly on his end of the weapon, but she didn't budge, keeping her arm exactly where she put it. This seemed to surprise him just the slightest, but in was only a brief flicker as angry red letters began to form around the same arm. In the back of her mind she noted how his irises had gained a ring of red around the outer edge the second those letters appeared. How interesting.

She herself, had never seen much of zaiphon, but with her time here she had certainly become acquainted with it. Having it encircle a body part made her no less wary, but she was also no less resolved and ready. What threw her off slightly was the coloring, like chakra she'd been taught that the color was blue. And like chakra, she was more than willing to assume that red meant that its owner had an ability or edge that made his zaiphon different from the norm. One that would be negative, destructive.

Again she was proven right when it tightened, the moment it was close enough it was like a line of needles, trying to break her skin from all sides in that one simple circle. She didn't even glance at her arm, still unwilling to let it budge so much as a micrometer, despite the shocks of pain and free flowing blood as it soaked the edges of her white sleeves on either side, staining it a simple red. Sakura knew that defense would only get her so far and so this time, she slid her foot back just slightly, not making a sound as she never lost contact with the ground.

And then she was moving.

Her booted feet landed exactly where his were, or rather, had been. He must have been able to see her move forward as he'd jumped back. But she was no where near done because he wasn't out of her range. So she used the whip still coiled around her bleeding arm to pull him forward, intending to disarm him of it in the process even as she flipped her body over, relying only on one hand to hold her weight. Shinobi she maybe, but she was also a doctor and was not idiotic enough to push a wounded limb anymore than she had to no matter what appearance she gave off. The second her palm and pads of her fingers touched the floor, she was swinging her legs, aiming one for his torso and the other his head.

As she expected, he blocked both with ease, even catching and grabbing the leg aimed for his head. He used the limb to pull her off her hand and off the ground all together. And just as quickly he was shoving her back down, but she buffered herself of the impact with her arms just in time, once more finding a way to hold her own weight so that she was free to use her captured limb to shove him over her body.

Like a cat he landed on his feet, looking not even the slightest ruffled. Quickly, she found her feet, settling her body in a crouch as she did so. There she waited once more for him to make the first move, wondering if he'd resort to zaiphon again or if he would use the sword at his hip since she was between him and the leather whip. But it also meant that he was between her and the door.

And just moments later, red zaiphon encircled a body part of hers once more, but this time it was her neck. She watched him carefully, seeing his slightly lifted arm and how he had one hand, fingers outstretched, for her threatened body part. But he clearly already thought it over, was already angling his body towards the door.

She almost huffed, anger rising at being forgotten just like that. Did he really think such a simple act would beat her? She'd fought back and won against more threatening circumstances than this. It was like a kunai being held to her throat as the attacker stood behind her, and that hadn't brought her down. It had stilled her, caused her to use strategy to get out of the mess, but she had then. And she would now.

Sakura lifted her arms once more, this time, putting both between her neck and the letters. With one deft movement, she shoved both appendages outwards, forcing the lettering to expand in circle even as it began siphoning into her wrists. Again, the pain was paid no heed as she ducked down, careful not to let her pink head touch the red letters.

When she was sure she was clear of it, she moved forward once more, this time though, she encased her body in a paper thin chakra covering, not allowing it to be seen as she pushed her body to move as fast as it could. And this time, he didn't see her move and didn't pull back in time to avoid the fist on a collision course for his gut.

But it didn't matter because just after it connected, before any pain or damage could set in and ripple through his body, he had his hand up, drawn sword. The sharp side of the blade slicing straight through the muscles of her thighs, despite the erected barrier she'd placed. However, the barrier wasn't intended as a buffer, wasn't meant to stop any kind of attack at all. It was set to see to any inflected wounds, numbing and even healing a little if necessary. Which meant that there was only a slight falter in her stance, but enough of one that if she hadn't just shoved her fist into his gut, he would have been able to at least return the favor.

She shifted again, still as silent as night, not even her slightly labored breath making any noise at all. Ignoring the wakizashi at her own hip, one that Sasuke had given to her as a birthday present some years ago, she yanked back her outstretched limb, moving to a roundhouse kick instead.

Sakura's best offense had always been hand to hand, so she had learned from Lee how to make combinations in her attacks. This one was one of her favorites.

It didn't connect, however. He didn't bother to catch her leg for a second time, he forewent it all together, using the pointed end of the blade in an uppercut, he slammed it straight through the backside of her calf, tearing all manner of flesh and muscle and even bone tissue.

This time a small hiss of pain was dragged from her lips, but it was only a sharp intake of air, barely audible even to her own ears. Dimly, she realized that now both legs were bleeding profusely as her body slammed into the ground. Before she could surge back to her feet though, ready to keep going, the red energy was back again. It surrounded her body in multiple rings, one around her hip, another neck, another her knees, one per arm.

It had her cursing but still unwilling to give up.

The question was: how did she get out of this before either he finished it or he headed for the door she'd been guarding? Her legs would need a little tending to before she tried to go further, she didn't need them giving out or anything at any time if she wanted to live through this. But both her arms were still fully operable despite the minor injuries on them. So how?

How did she get back up when she was literally trapped between sharp words and the cold floor? Floor. Why had she thought of that sooner? Deciding now wasn't the best time to be questioning her awareness abilities; she picked up the arm that was partially hidden from his view. She only needed to raise it at least an inch and with the room between the zaiphon and her, she had more than enough. Fisting her hand and subconsciously placing chakra into it, she slammed it into tiled flooring releasing that chakra just as it connected with the ground.

Like she'd expected, the ground gave way, rippling and tearing. Displacing itself in layers and sizes as it did so. More specifically, it'd created something of a hole beneath her, giving her just enough room to escape the half circles, push to her feet and once more place herself between him and the door.

Clearly she'd surprised him, as he jumped back, landing on one of the bigger taller pieces. But she knew instinctively, that taken slightly off guard or not, it wouldn't impede him for very long. She took the time to shield herself behind some debris and settle on her ass so as to see the severity of the damage. Focusing green healing chakra in her palms, she probed the leg that had been stabbed through; she didn't heal the whole thing. Something told her she'd need as much of her chakra as she could keep from here on out. But she did reconnect an important vein that had been severed and pushed the bone and muscle tissue to smooth over the tears. But she left the muscle alone, that could fix itself and though that meant pain, she could handle it knowing that it wouldn't give out on her. She did the same for her thigh on the other leg.

But that was all she'd had time for as he'd spotted her once more, easily crossing the distance. She climbed back to her feet, ignoring her protesting muscles.

Before she could do anything, even lift bloodied hands to her defense; he'd slammed the blunt of the blade into the back of her neck, not even causing so much as a nick or a cut hair in the process. Surprise and stiffness flooded her body as black spots appeared in her vision. She fell to her knees, both making a dull thud at the exact same time and then falling the rest of the way, her vision leaving completely at some point before she felt her face hit the floor.

Her eyelids closed as she was pulled into unconsciousness before it could occur to her to even try to fight it.

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><p>Violet eyes watched the pink haired soldier blank out as he hit the back of her neck with practiced precision, having already made the decision not to kill her. He should, she was just an obstacle and he was used to simply killing his opponents to remove them from his path. She'd even said she'd give her life before he got so much as a glimpse past the door. But that intrigued him, to be so calm about promising her own death, he could tell by her green eyes even before she'd opened her mouth that she was wary and didn't think she would win. And she didn't, but it had been a long time since he'd crossed paths with someone who put up such a fight. Multiple times she had caught him off guard, her strength and fighting skills alone were enough that she could easily have been high ranking. Her tenacity and improvising abilities clearly came from a well trained background and experience as well as being able to think for herself. She would be a great addition to the Barsburg Military, and since Antwort would be the Empire's before the day was done that would make her within his reach.<p>

Ayanami kept a keen eye on her even as he drew his sword back, he wouldn't put it past her to be able to recover and react from even this. Especially after escaping death so nearly twice in a row. And splitting the earth like that, her energy was not zaiphon, but he didn't know what it was either. That was another reason to pull her into the Military. He found himself slightly surprised – once more – to see her on her feet after taking such damaging blows to both her legs.

Green eyes weren't wide but they did dull a bit with the telltale signs of unconsciousness encroaching on her, as they did her lips twitched upward but fell back into the serious line she'd been wearing. Gravity quickly overtook her voluntary limbs, pulling her to her knees without a quiet thud and then her body slumped forward crashing into the ground the rest of the way. Before it did so her eyes completely blanked as her body became unmoving. If he didn't know better, he would say he'd delivered a kill shot rather than an incapacitating one.

Once he was certain she would not be able to surprise or hinder him further, he stepped over her. As he did so, he noted how her leg wounds weren't bleeding out but her gloves did have drying blood on them. How interesting, he wondered what she had done for that to be possible, since her bruised arms did still seem to be allowing blood to escape.

Deciding he would have all the time in the world to satisfy his curiosity later, he settled his attention on the door she'd guarded so diligently and proceeded without even so much as idle thought of the woman on the floor behind him. It took him no time at all to cross the rest of the large and currently deformed room.

Again the red letters appeared at his will, obliterating the door before him without ever even faltering in his gait. Wisps of smoke still churned in the air as he passed the doorframe, his gaze immediately drawn to the black box emblemized with the church's cross symbol on the front that told him he had found what he'd been looking for. Pandora's Box. Though it did have zaiphon restraints on it, they were of little consequence. "As I thought, it is here…" It was within his reach, finally after so long. Invading Antwort was turning out be quite the reward, Barsburg would gain knew territory and he was gaining part of what had been taken from him and a subordinate. "Searching all of the allied nations thoroughly was worth while." Naturally narrowed eyes, narrowed just slightest bit more as they took on a more sardonic yet placid look, "I should have realized when you left the Raggs Alliance, King Antwort." The king before him stood in front of the suspended container, looking very much like the trapped man he was. "You were the one who stole Pandora's Box from the Raggs Kingdom."

"As you can see, it took considerable skill to get in here, quite the hassle." Now that it was so clearly in his reach and wouldn't be any trial at all to get it in his hands, he saw no reason not to proceed at his leisure, almost candidly even.

King Antwort's face contorted with fury and belying fear, "Y…you Barsburg Dog…!" The intended insult rolled off his back like water, having heard it too many times to truly be affected by it. But his eyes did sharpen slightly as his keen ears caught the man's mutterings, "So much for a top notch bodyguard, the woman was useless when it came down to it." He decided to ignore it in favor of responding to his outburst instead; though couldn't help but wonder if Antwort's King even knew said woman's name.

"It's not that I don't understand your feelings." Even so, it didn't mean he liked it all too well either, his lips turning down into a frown and his expression lost its ease. "The contents of Pandora's Box is the god-created Verloren; who would refuse the opportunity to gain the world's knowledge?"

"You won't open this box! To open it you need the Eye of Mikhail!" Did the King of Antwort think that Ayanami wasn't aware of that fact? All the same, it didn't matter because that Eye was directly in his possession. "That which the Barsburg Empire has searched for ten years, to think a low-born Warsfeil like you could…"

Blood splattered as the King was killed, his blood quickly covering the floor like a rug, pieces of body parts strewn along with pieces of cloth, before he could finish his sentence. His family was not something he would tolerate even the slightest having thrown in his face, by anyone for any reason.

Just as quickly as his temper had spiked it was nonexistent once more and he was walking swiftly to the box. The box that held his true body, Verloren's body. But once he had it open, he didn't find what he knew was supposed to be encased, all he found was an empty box – except for the flower inside. Carefully, he reached in grabbing and lifting the flower, but it fell apart in the form of snow in his gloved hand.

A flash of one of the seven ghosts in front of the Eye of Mikhail's vessel flashed into his mind. "Interesting." The pale haired man felt his blood tremble with agitation at the knowledge that those fragments of himself had managed to thwart him once more, especially when he had been certain he had a piece of what he wanted. "Those death gods are interesting." He murmured blackly, not feeling the least bit so right at that moment. But his tactical mind quickly turned over all the possibilities of how Verloren's body had been taken from its box, not to mention who was clearly involved. Teito seemed to be playing quite the key role in standing in the way of what he wanted. That would not do.

But that would have to wait for later. Right then he would secure what he did have at his fingertips and continue planning for what would get him everything else. It calmed him slightly to know he wasn't leaving this place empty handed, not with the knowledge of where to look next and the woman still lying on the floor.

He made quick work of the distance, kneeling beside the rosette as he did so. She was already on her stomach, and that made it all the easier to bind her arms behind her back with zaiphon restraints and to shackle her feet. Once he'd finished the task, he reached for her waist, using said part to lift her off the ground. She was lighter than he had expected, though it did explain her agility he knew it was definitely unhealthy for a woman of her age and height to weigh so little. However, he had no qualms about using it to his advantage, throwing her over his shoulder as he began walking once more.


	2. Serve

**Beta-reader:** Terror-Of-The-Crimson-Night

**Chapter:** Two – Serve

**Type:** Mini-Story – Incomplete

**Word Count:** 6,310

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

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><p>When she woke, the first thing that occurred to her was that her head <em>hurt<em>. The next was that her hands were bound and the last was that it didn't feel like there were any restraints or suppressors on her chakra. She groaned softly, opening her eyes just a bit so as to try to get a visual. She would have guessed she was still in the room just before the King's Chambers, if it weren't for the fact that her hands were trussed behind her, making her shoulder blades ache almost uncomfortably.

She almost huffed, she'd been kidnapped. That was the only explanation for why she was in her current position.

Belatedly, she felt like she was moving, more specifically, the ground she was on was in suspended motion. The only time she'd ever felt like this was when she was in or on a flying object.

Great. That was just freakin' peachy. Now she had to figure out how to escape.

But the first step was figuring out how long she'd been out then where she was and whose possession she was currently in. Then she could devise a plan of escape. So she focused on getting accustomed to the bright electric lighting above her. The bedding beneath her felt something like a mat, slightly cushioned but definitely not made for comfort.

She turned her head to the side, deciding she would bother with her feet later – she could feel the bindings on them too anyway. It crossed her mind to send out her chakra, feel her surroundings and how close any living person was to her, but she discarded it in favor of not chancing having her chakra suppressed on top of everything else. Not to mention the fact that she was pretty much on her own, even if she could contact Danzo or Konoha, she wasn't really in the mood to come home almost five months early when she didn't have to.

So instead, she settled for a thorough observation of the room she was being kept in. It was relatively small, storage room size almost, but it wasn't full of boxes or anything of the sort. In fact there was nothing but the almost white walls and tiled ceiling in the room besides her and the mat she was placed on. They weren't even courteous enough to give her a blanket like Deidara had when she was kidnapped by Akatsuki so long ago. But that was a different story that she didn't have the time to dwell on if she wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

Her green eyes searched for the door since there was clearly no window. It was in front of her; she could see the small gap at the bottom of the wall between her feet and knew if she looked upwards she would find a handle not too far above it. Well, gee, wouldn't this be a task? Huffing inwardly, she pushed aside her irritation so as to figure out what she needed to do. The bindings on her hands weren't just on her hands because they spread from her wrists to her elbows and they were thick metal as they held the backs of her hands together. The ones at her ankles were also thick but not as far reaching. So she was going to have to get inventive.

Before she could even attempt to however, she saw the shadow of boots appear at the door just before it opened. Immediately she berated herself for being so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even hear them approach. But that thought was set aside quickly because the person behind the door was the same one she had fought in the huge room just before the King's. Just as when she'd first seen him, there was no expression on his face, but this time there was someone with him. Another man in the same uniform; though he was taller, his black hair uncovered by any hat and his eyes unseen behind sunglasses. What threw her was that he had a sucker in his mouth.

The pale haired man stayed in the doorway as the other approached her. She felt her body still completely as she tried to decide who she should pay more attention to and decided that as lethal as her opponent had been, the more imminent problem was the black haired man. He bent down and easily got an arm under her neck and the other under her knees; from there he proceeded to stand as she stiffened further, quick mind grasping at all the ways out of this situation before it escalated any more. But instead of lifting her up with him, he set her directly on her feet and facing his superior. Green eyes stayed trained on him, refusing to flit about the door or to the hallway behind him.

She allowed her head to tilt to the side as she smiled slightly at him, not feeling the least but humored, "So much for forfeiting my life."

His lavender eyes narrowed slightly, "Do you wish to die?"

She blinked her eyes once at the question, "Of course not. But the world doesn't always work that way."

The man behind her chuckled, "Nope, but this time it does."

The smile fell from her face and she zeroed in on the Barsburg officer, this time searching instead of looking, "Oh? May I inquire as to why that is?"

His eyes returned to their normal size as he seemed to relax back into his posture, it made hers stiffen further, "You will be my begleiter."

Now a frown found its way to her face, "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the term." And she wasn't, but she did have a pretty good idea of what it meant for her and her well being. And that simply couldn't happen.

Her statement seemed catch him by surprise slightly, "It means you will be my assistant and apprentice."

She felt her heart sink as her suspicions were proven true. "If I refuse?"

To her surprise, he merely smiled almost indulgently, "That's not an option."

Green eyes narrowed, she'd always hated being caged into anything she didn't want any part of. Not only did it irritate her, but she knew she was going to have to deal with it enough once she returned to Konoha. "Then I'll make it one."

He didn't seem to like her response, in fact neither did the swordsman behind her. She'd expected that, but she also thought his grip would tighten or those angry red letters were materialize, neither thing happened though. So they weren't unnecessarily malicious, that was good to know. It gave her a chance to even try to talk her way out of this, if there was any chance left after her statement.

For a moment, the whole room seemed to be void of sound all together, until the man before her broke it. "I was under the impression that you were agreeable to militia-like jobs. Why is this one different?"

Again she was thrown off by the response. Whatever she had expected, that was not it. Especially since she didn't think he'd use that one line she'd said to him before their fight against her. She sorted quickly through her thoughts for a viable retort that wouldn't give him ammunition to use. "My apologies to give such an impression."

He tilted his head, "Then it is false?"

_Trapped_, her mind told her, _she was trapped_. And by the look in his eye, he knew it too. "What does being your begleiter entail, exactly?"

She felt rather than saw his triumph as it colored his countenance. If she hadn't known Itachi as well as she did, she never would have been able to see the minuscule differences that gave him away. And it made her want to lash out like a child at the feeling that she had lost to him again. This time though, without a fight.

"That you will carry out any command that I give you, and figure out everything else on your own."

She figured that much, it was implied when she learned what a begleiter was. "You said 'apprentice' was also part of being a begleiter."

The black haired man's chuckle vibrated through her body and it made her wonder when he was going to let go of her. "Yup, we'll test you to see where you're lacking. But Aya-tan said you were really good at maneuvering your body and hand-to-hand combat. Plus you had a wakizashi. And not to mention that you have green energy. So I guess we'll work off of that instead."

Her heart sank even further as she realized she had been seen healing herself. And here she'd been hoping that at least she had her chakra and healing abilities as a good trump card, apparently not. She felt herself nod stiffly, "I see, and how long will this be?"

The smile on Ayanami's face grew slightly, gaining an edge that made Sakura's stomach turn uncomfortably. Instinctively, she knew she wasn't going to like any answer she got. "As long as you're useful."

Definitely didn't like it. But the buried optimistic part of her told her how it could make things easier; if she made herself as useless as possible there was still a chance. The voice was almost immediately stamped out by the simple fact that she didn't think it would work no matter how hard she tried. As well as the fact that she was presuming that in his mind, useless meant dead.

She was so screwed.

And she still had Konoha to worry about on top of everything else.

* * *

><p>Apparently, Ayanami was the slave driver type of teacher and superior. That didn't quite surprise Sakura, what did however, was how much he had her do. After introducing her to the rest of the Black Hawks and removing her bindings, he set her to menial tasks. Simple things that could be considered the job of help or housewives. He wanted her to sort and file everything in the office, he wanted her to cook dinner for all members of the team and he wanted her to make sure everything was order. When he'd told her that, she could only help but stare at him because she'd been under the impression that he wanted her as a fighter, not as a…well, as a maid.<p>

But after he'd given the orders he'd turned and walked away, Hyuuga on his heels. She'd blinked once, then twice.

Sure they were on an aircraft so sparring probably wasn't the best idea, and certainly she still had some nasty wounds on her legs – ones she hadn't felt until the bindings were released and she was standing on her own – but that didn't mean she wanted to be something like a house maid. That was why she was a kunoichi; she was no good at such tasks. Granted, her cooking had gotten much better since the time she'd unintentionally poisoned Naruto and she always had been something of a neat freak, but that didn't mean she wanted to do those things.

After mulling over just why he would have her do such things she realized that there was the distinct possibility he was testing her. If she wasn't reading too much into things, like she prone to, then the sorting and filing was to get her acquainted with the material the Black Hawks dealt with, the cooking was to see how much she'd actually try to be useful and the organizing was to see if she had the ability to keep up and stay on top of it. And doing all of it would show him she could follow orders. But that was all on the possibility that he did indeed have a reason for it and wasn't doing it just to see how fast she would snap or was assigning busybody work so that she wouldn't be under his feet.

That said, she let her eyes slip shut as she decided what she would do. She'd been cornered into this, but would she really do it or would she see how much it would take before he simply threw her overboard?

Getting herself killed when he gave her a chance didn't sound like the wisest idea, perhaps if she lived under him long enough he would get agitated with her behavior as Itachi had. Living meant seeing another day, living meant hope. What good would suicide by another's hand do her? None.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her green eyes and started for the kitchen. Something told her it was almost evening and dinner would be a good thing to start. But if she was going to make a proper dinner, she was going to have to socialize even a little. First with the cooks themselves to see what the team liked, and if that wasn't helpful enough then she'd ask said members themselves. After all, the most unpleasant one of the bunch had been Ayanami, the rest had seemed pretty friendly, or at least polite. It wouldn't be like dealing with Hidan or Kakuzu.

She shivered at the thought of the zombie twins and how she'd done everything she could to simply avoid them. Then she pushed thoughts of them to the back of her mind because thinking about her time with Akatsuki so long ago would not get her anywhere. Especially not with the knowledge that most of them were dead anyway.

Sakura shook her head in attempt to derail all thoughts on that train and set to the task at hand. It occurred to her too late that she'd never gotten a tour of the ship, but she was determined to do this.

Getting to the kitchen was more of a task than she thought it would be with how much she got turned around and lost inside the carrier, but did find it in good time. She rapped her knuckles on the metal door a few times before she pushed it open and stepped onto the tiled flooring. It was a lot emptier than she would have thought, but she didn't falter as she made a beeline for them.

The rosette smiled as pleasantly and politely as she could. "Hello." She bowed her head to all the occupants before continuing on because she had everyone's attention, "I'm so sorry to barge in like this, but the Chief of Staff has decided that I should cook this evening's meal for the Black Hawks. I sincerely hope it's not too much trouble."

One glance at all of their faces told her that they were relieved, which told her two things. The first being that she wouldn't meet resistance from them, and the second was that this wasn't going to be as easy as she'd thought it would.

"I was wondering if any one of you would be able to suggest what each member likes."

A collective shake of heads.

She tried not to groan. This was going to be impossible. But she'd tried for the impossible before and managed, so why not this as well? Setting her shoulders, she nodded to them again, "Thanks anyway, I appreciate it.'

The kunoichi turned on her heel and headed back out the way she came in, now for operation search for the Black Hawks and figure out what they like to eat.

* * *

><p>The first member she found was the blonde, Konatsu. For that she was thankful, he was close to her age range and seemed friendly enough when she'd first meet him not twenty minutes prior. He was settled on a couch in the main gathering room of the ship, a book in his lap as he sat cross-legged and absorbed. He glanced up, light brown eyes immediately finding green ones when she entered the room.<p>

Sakura smiled easily at the teen as she had done earlier and he in turn, smiled back. "Hey, I have an odd question, may I ask it?"

He blinked and she noted that she really liked his eyes. They were almost the hazel of her Shishou's but not quite, they were too amber to be that but not enough to be a golden shade either. Brown was a common color, usually neutral, but his were bright and almost telling of an open personality but also of keenness. "I don't see why not."

She nodded happily, thankful that it was going well, "Well, it seems I'm cooking dinner tonight and I was hoping you would tell me what you like to eat."

The blonde smiled and nodded, "That's not a question, you know."

"Oh, but I already did when I asked if I could ask you one."

Amber brown eyes blinked at her in surprise before he too started laughing. "Fair enough." He shifted in his position as he seemed to think about what to tell her. "I don't like anything spicy, preferably something on the sweet side and not too much seafood."

The pinkette smiled, this was definitely easier than she had first thought it would be. "Thanks so much, that makes my job a lot easier."

The blonde nodded to her, "I hope you like it in the Black Hawks."

"It doesn't seem easy." She told him in return, feeling a pang in her chest telling her that she shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be getting attached to someone she was just going to walk away from. But she was doing it anyway, to make the most of the time while she was there. Besides, her last kidnapping had taught her too well that she couldn't shut herself off even if she tried and back then she hadn't known the people any better and she'd liked them even less.

"No, but it's worth it."

She wasn't surprised when she found that he wasn't lying or even exaggerating, he truly did believe in this team and the people of it. It was nice to have that, she thought sullenly. Especially since hers had been ripped apart more times than she cared to count. But she still had them, she still had Naruto and Ino and Sai, the war had simply taken most of the people she held dear. And it had also put Danzo in charge of Konoha. The pang struck again, this time in a different way, telling her that if she didn't stop thinking about such things then it would make her chest ache something fierce with emotion that she had no time for. So she pushed the thoughts away as best she could.

"I know how that feels." She wouldn't commit to anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't empathize and get along. "I'm glad I had the luck to meet such a team."

Again those eyes blinked at her in surprise and she wondered if her own had taken on a faraway look like the one welling in her chest. Before he could say anything though, she nodded, bowing slightly as she did so. "It's nice to meet you, Konatsu."

Turning on her heel, she left the room intent on finding the others. And because she was already almost out the door she didn't see how the blonde smiled, or the way he murmured a 'nice to meet you, too' before he returned to the book in his lap.

Five months, she had five months before something needed to be done about her newest predicament. She would make the most of it.

* * *

><p>After having found searched out all of the members she got the answers she'd wanted. Hyuuga and Konatsu's had been the most helpful, but she had still gotten sound answers from the entire team which surprised her. The Chief had been surprised when she'd knocked on the open door to his office. He'd glanced up and she'd taken that as her cue to come a few steps forward and ask if he had any preferences in food. Surprise had flitted so fast and so faintly in his eyes she wasn't really sure if she had seen it, but Hyuuga had grinned at her in much the same way Naruto did and answered for both his superior and himself.<p>

She'd nodded her thanks, smiling lightly before turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen since they'd been the last one's she had needed to ask before she could begin preparing dinner. Because of the almost wide range of answers she'd gotten, she'd decided she would make something of a smorgasbord, but still managing to tie all the foods in so it wouldn't look like she'd picked things at random. And since she was used to cooking for friends and teammates and colleagues the medic had easily guessed how much she would need and what she would need.

She'd known it would take a little while so she had busied herself with exploring some more and getting herself familiar with the surroundings as best she could. When she couldn't get too far away from the food, she would let her gaze settle on one of the windows in the kitchen. They weren't big but they gave her a clear view of the steadily darkening sky. It had occurred to her that she could probably do a little organizing or one of the other chores she'd been saddled with before deciding that she was likely to get too immersed in them and forget about the food.

Once she had it finished she asked the cooks how they normally informed the Black Hawks that it was dinner time. To which the head cook had told her nervously that they rarely ate together and that the meals were usually taken to each one respectively. The green eyed captive knew that doing it the normal way would probably be best, but she instinctively knew that it was possible for it to be used against her. If she did it the cooks' way, it would be very easy and logical to assume she hadn't cooked dinner by herself as she'd been told to, and since she had done as ordered she wasn't going to chance getting in trouble for it.

Decision made, she asked if they head a dinner table or dining room. Sakura had expected the head of the kitchen staff to answer her but instead it was one of the cooks who had been keeping quiet, telling her that there was but they team didn't use it. The teenage boy who couldn't be any older than Konatsu had continued to tell her how she would traditional get the news to them without having to search them out.

Green eyes had blinked, but she'd given the younger boy a dazzling smile all the same and told him that she appreciated the help. Even so, she'd decided that since she'd already searched them all out once, she would do so again rather than use the convince of bells and telegraphed messages, besides it meant that she could do even more exploring. However, she figured it would be pertinent to set the table beforehand.

With that, she'd proceeded to find them all again, going from closest to farthest from the kitchen instead. By doing so she'd managed to throw all of the members off guard yet again. With the exception of Kuroyuri who had happily told her that he would be right there without missing a beat. Konatsu had blinked those pretty eyes of his at her but closed his book and stood, offering to tell the rest of his superiors. Smiling had been inevitable to his proposition but she wanted to do it herself and so had shaken her head, thanking him not for the first time that day. Hyuuga had hummed happily, exclaiming that he couldn't wait and proceeded to grab his Chief of Staff's sleeve and pull said man to his feet. Ayanami gave no resistance as his eyes seemed to try to pick her apart for reasons to her actions, in the end still walking past her.

She didn't follow however, having faith that they knew where to go and since she hadn't set the table for herself there would be no point in joining them. And just because she was doing as she was told did not mean she was willing to simple start acting like part of the team so easily, whether she'd been declared that way or not. She was not going to give this up without even so much as a minor fuss, but she found she was still irritated with how compliant she was being. Akatsuki's members – Itachi and Deidara especially – had bared the brunt of her anger the first few weeks and her attitude even more than a few weeks after that. Yet here she was, smiling and going out of her way to make their lives easier. Could she not find a balance for those who had captured her?

Idly, she wondered if this was going to turn out the same way, if she was going to return to Konoha when the Black Hawks were all but eliminated by some force or another much as had been the circumstance with her last kidnapping.

Shaking off the thoughts yet again, she padded soundlessly into the room the others had vacated minutes ago, reasoning that now was as good a time as any to start in on the other two orders. First would be sorting and filing, then she would organize from there. Because she had a feeling that organizing applied to more than the offices in the ship.

* * *

><p>Finishing the tasks remaining tasks had taken longer than she had thought it would, but Sakura still got it done before the night got too dark and thankfully after she was pretty sure most of the staff and the Black Hawks had retired for the night. Still, she found her feet silently carrying her to the balcony she had found earlier and she didn't even so much as pause as she left the warm confines of the ship for the crisp night air and speed induced winds. Instead she didn't stop until she was close enough to lean against the darkened railing, allowing her hips to rest squarely against it.<p>

From there, she lazily stretched her body in a catlike manner, quickly stopping at the shock of pain that pulsed from her calf and thigh. Emerald colored eyes blinked with mild surprise as she realized that in her effort to get everything done she forgot all about her wounds. Belatedly she also acknowledge that being up and about for so long had probably undone the healing her body had managed on it's own and probably even some of what she'd done when they were still fresh.

Sighing almost soundlessly, she placed still gloved hands on the railing and lifted her body onto it, balance coming so natural she didn't even think about it as she tugged one leg up to her chest, placing a sandaled foot on the circular beam beneath her. Without preamble, she rolled up her pant leg until she could clearly see her wounded calf and set to poking and prodding the already agitated flesh. Judging by the pain it got her, she'd say she managed tear the muscle tissue completely and the bone tissue was so taunt and raw that it was close to tearing also. She pursed her lips at the damage she'd managed to do and mentally berated herself for her carelessness. At least the skin had begun to scab enough that she was bleeding on top of everything else.

"Well that looks painful." She flinched, jerking just enough that she started to fall off the railing and off the ship entirely. Instinctively, she sent chakra to where her body touched the metal so as to halt her fall without even so much as sliding. She wasn't surprised that the prospect of almost falling to her death didn't cause her heart to either stutter or speed up even slightly. It occurred to her that maybe that wasn't a good thing but she brushed it aside all the same.

Green eyes flickered to sunglasses and grin, though she could tell that he'd been ready to lounge when she'd shown signs of falling. In return she shrugged nonchalantly, "Not really." Which was true, for all the damage all she felt was a dull ache when she focused on it and when she didn't it was easy to forget there was any damage at all. That probably wasn't a good thing either. Her subconscious blamed it on having been through war, but she refused to even think about letting it become conscious; it was too long ago and hurt far too much.

He gave her a surprised look, though she felt it more candid than anything. "Not even when you first got it?"

"I'd numbed my limbs so no, not even then." She knew how that sounded, but it was far too habitual and it wasn't like she was using it to bypass limitations, she just didn't want it hindering her unnecessarily.

His sunglasses feel enough down the bridge of his nose for her to see the blue color of his eyes as well as the sharpness of them as he pinned her with his gaze, suddenly very serious despite the fact that he was still grinning same as usual. His body language and his tone didn't match, "You can numb your limbs at will?"

She paused, wondering if the full truth would be better than answering his question as simply as possible. Lying by omission was something Naruto and Sasuke had pulled on her more than once and she knew that stance and the look in those eyes. Full truth it was. "I can, it's not wise and I did so the pain wouldn't be crippling, but I can."

The deadly calm that his posture exuded died down as he took a more curious one. "Really? How?"

She couldn't help but quirk her lips, "How is it unwise or how do I numb it?" Even as she spoke the words she made the universal sign for him to come forward and then placed her hands on either side of her calf and directly below the wound.

"Both?" He came forward a few feet until he had a good view of the wound itself.

Without further adieu she centered chakra into her fist, the night seeming less dark as the almost pale green color outlined her hands. She knew it would be quicker for her to put her hands directly over her damaged body part but this way he would see the affects much more clearly. In fact, he came even closer when the film of chakra covered her black gloves. Then she started in, working from the inner most damage outward until the scab was gone and not even so much as a faint line remained on either side. It was easy and basic for her to do, and took no time at all, but Hyuuga clearly found it fascinating.

Enough to reach out a white gloved hand and draw his index finger across where the wound had been but there was no scar and no telltale sign that anything had ever been wrong in the first place.

"So this is what the green energy does?" Finally his blue eyes came back to her and he removed his hand from her leg.

She nodded, shrugging lightly. Since the leg was properly tended to, she rolled down her pant leg and shifted so that it rested beside her other. "It's not all powerful, however. It has draw backs, like death. Anything short of death is in my range – provided I have enough energy at my disposal and can fix the problem before it's too late."

"No battlefields?" He was as inquisitive as a cat. She paused, and so was his fearless leader.

Green eyes darted to the doorway and she hopped of the railing, landing on steady, silent feet. She proceeded to skirt Hyuuga until she was within sight of Ayanami and then she finally answered, "Not so. I was trained as a battlefield medic, so yes, if need be I can work under constant threat."

Almost as if one, the two much taller men moved closer until they were mere feet in front of her and Hyuuga was back to being at his superior's side. It gave Sakura the slightest pause and not because she was being shown a united front by obviously formidable people.

"Training?" Ayanmi.

She nodded again, shrugging. This was going to get a bit tricky, after all, showing them what she knew and telling them where it came from were two totally different things. But she'd put up with ANBU and Itachi and still managed straight answers that didn't really answer the question. "Among the hand-to-hand combat and maneuvering, I was taught healing. The wakizashi however, was something I never really had that much of a knack for; I prefer my own two hands by choice of weapon."

"Splitting the ground?" Again, Ayanami.

"When I was learning to be a battlefield medic. It wouldn't do if I couldn't hold my own, otherwise that would get the person or people I was attending killed and most likely myself." No who's or when's or where's, she didn't trust these guys enough to potentially jeopardize her home like that. That; and it was still the first day.

Violet and blue eyes turned to each other for just the slightest of moments and then they turned back to the smaller woman. "The energy itself, how does it work?"

Again she hesitated; answering that would give them blueprints and guidelines. It would be showing them her greatest strength and therefore her greatest weakness. But she knew how zaiphon worked as well, and part of her was never big on being unfair after she'd already used her advantage. "It's like zaiphon in a manner. An essence of life and can be used. But that's pretty much where the similarities end. It draws equally on physical energy and spiritual energy so its not a matter of not having it, it's more of a knowing how to use it and being able to, rather than having it dormant and not always usable."

Hyuuga tipped his head, "Then there has to be a different limitation."

She was surprised that all she felt was her own cautiousness at the direct question, no warning bells no anxiety. Nothing. "It does – a very big one. As far as I can tell, zaiphon is all but limitless. Chakra is not, it is very possible to run out of chakra, and if that happens then death isn't just possible."

The purpled haired man shifted only slightly, and green eyes noted how Hyuuga seemed to react to it. Without moving so much as muscle, without putting out a different aura. If that wasn't her tip off, she didn't know what was. "In other words, it's useful like zaiphon but necessary as food or water."

She bobbed her head slightly, "It has the same telltale affects as physical exhaustion because it affects the body the same way. Low chakra can be like low blood supply. Too much is not a good thing, either. And lastly I do have a chakra circulatory system that's just as abundant as my veins and is wrapped around all the important organs."

With all the drawbacks laid bare, she realized just how much of weakness the strength itself could be. How paradoxical, she thought idly, but it didn't matter.

"If it's like veins and all, does it have pressure points too?"

She blinked, "Yes, it does. 361 points, in fact, but they don't work the same way, not exactly. If pressured or pressed correctly, the point can either accelerate chakra flow or halt altogether."

"Neither is good." Hyuuga guessed from the answer she'd given to his question.

"Depending on the situation, but normally no." She confirmed, slightly miffed at how easy all the information she had volunteered and hoped that her instincts were right. Hoped she hadn't just made a costly mistake.

The two seemed content for silence after her answer, not speaking but their eyes met again. She had the distinct feeling that they were finished with their mini interrogation, what with their curiosity sated. Until she was the recipient of Hyuuga's sunglass-gaze once more, "You said it's like zaiphon…"

"Does that mean it does other things than healing?" She finished and paused. Then she nodded, "There are three categories, though they aren't the same as zaiphon's." If she had been taught correctly by the soldiers of Antwort, of course. "Instead of being separated into attack, healing or manipulation, it's sorted into the spirit-to-physical energy ratio. There are ninjutsu – which covers all physical offensive as well as medicine –taijutsu – which rarely has chakra laced into it, but I do – and genjutsu – which is all the surreal offensive and illusionary stuff."

Again, she got the feeling that they were done with their questions and she was partially thankful. Not once had the pushed for places or locations or even tried to get such things out of her. After she'd evaded anything past the surface with Ayanami's training question, neither had even bothered for it. Sakura wondered idly if that was a good or a bad thing.

But she did have the time to find out, whatever it was. In the meantime, she had a thigh to heel and a good night's rest was sounding nice.


	3. Choose

**Beta-reader:** SymphoniaFreak

**Chapter:** Three – Choose

**Type:** Mini-Story – Incomplete

**Word Count:** 6,545

**Disclaimer:** If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

**Note:** Chapters 1 and 2 have been revised and edited. Pleased go check them out before you continue on to this chapter. Also, the AyaHyu pairing I warned of wasn't prominent in the previous two chapters but it's going to be mentioned at the very least in this one.

Also, this one took so long because I fought tooth and nail with it, and only got a sentence every few hours at best, so if you look at the word count, I think it's a viable excuse.

**Edited On:** June 17, 2012

* * *

><p>Four months had passed since Ayanami had all but kidnapped her. And as much as she really didn't want to admit it, she'd actually enjoyed her time with the Black Hawks. Whether it was behind a desk working side-by-side with her superior or doing something else for him, she found herself at ease in her environment. When she did have free time – which was about as often as she would have had she been back in Konoha – she tended to spend it bonding with all members of the team. Granted, she found herself in different kind of relationships between the members.<p>

What she'd picked up on the first day she was around Hyuuga and Ayanami had turned out to be deeper than she'd initially thought. Watching the two of them interact never ceased to amuse her, what with Hyuuga being so outgoing and continually trying to engage his superior into doing something that wasn't work while neglecting his own. It was always entertaining; even more so when it failed to work every time. Nevertheless, she did catch all the smaller giveaways that told her why the swordsman kept doing it: the Chief was encouraging him to do so. Sakura wasn't sure if either of them realized she was well aware of what was going on between them, considering she hadn't even hinted at knowing, but she figured it didn't mattered whether she knew or not.

Kuroyuri had taken a sort of liking to her, even if she couldn't tell whether the commander was male or female. She'd taken to thinking of him as a guy; despite his hair color and some of the more feminine parts of him, she was pretty sure he was male. And after she'd heard about Kuroyuri's response to Hyuuga's prodding on the matter, she'd decided to leave her assumption the way it was, not that he cared one way or the other anyway. She'd learned that he did, in fact, have his own begleiter, Haruse, but said subordinate was not active for the time being. No one would tell her much more than that, and she had enough sense not to ask. And so that left the two of them with a sort of camaraderie as the smaller boy had taken to using her as an excuse for eating or sleeping instead of working. A relation she had the feeling that she was more of an unintentional stand in for than anything else. But as with most things involving the young commander, she didn't bother to ask.

Kitsuragi treated her very much like a child in the same way he did Konatsu and Kuroyuri, looking out for her in a way that only a caretaker of sorts would. She couldn't say she minded; the last person to have acted in such a way towards her was Kakashi, and it was something she intended to cherish. It was so hard to come by such close relations in her line of work, and her number of friends and surrogate family had gotten dangerously low compared to what it had been a mere two or so years ago. So the obvious things that normally had Konatsu irritated or Kuroyuri bristling were taken with a soft smile and a thank you. It was the best she could give since it was all she would take.

The twins, Suzu and Yuki, tended to do odd jobs outside the office most of the time, but her relationship with them had only increased. She often sparred with the two of them, or learned even more of the Raggs language depending on the situation. Now that the three of them were under Ayanami's command, she didn't feel her heart ache when she saw them. Because of the leader of the Black Hawks, the two were used less as objects and more as subjects. Which meant she also spent more time with them when she could and smiled with a casual wave and greeting when she couldn't.

Konatsu had become someone unexpectedly important to her, though. She didn't know what it was about him, but just being around him was fun and filling and a large portion of the reason she'd enjoyed her time in Barsburg. He was usually pretty easy going, but unlike nearly of the other members – Ayanami and sometimes Kitsuragi being the exceptions – he tended to get work done and was usually the main reason Hyuuga even halfway attempted anything. It wasn't just interacting with him either; it was watching him too. Seeing his amber eyes so full of life, his blonde hair rustled and the content smile on his face was all at once calming and exciting, and part of her never wanted anything to happen to it. Part of her wanted to make sure nothing ever happened to him.

And knowing all of that, everything between her and the Black Hawks, scared her. Because it meant that she wasn't just attached and leaving when she had to was going to be next to impossible. She knew instinctively that it would feel like she was stabbing newfound friends and comrades in the face, something she'd made a point of never doing at any cost. But she didn't belong here, not in any way shape or form. Ayanami had kidnapped her and she was part of Konoha's shinobi force.

Green eyes fell shut in a mix of emotions, ones she didn't care to untangle because she knew this feeling. Knew how this would end. She'd formed an attachment to the four Akatsuki members who had captured her, who had used her, and it had felt exactly the same way when duty and loyalty demanded she got off the fence she hadn't realized she was on. Back then she'd chosen the home she'd vowed to always serve and protect, chosen to return to the side of the leader who had become a mother to her. She'd chosen Konoha then.

And she would have to choose it now.

Not just because she knew she had to, but because now there was a scroll in her hands and messenger from Konoha telling her to.

The rosette opened her eyes, refusing the urge to lean back against the door to her apartment – in the back of her mind she realized she was going to be at the office a few minutes later than usual and Ayanami would give her hell for it – as she gazed back into black eyes. They were the only thing visible behind the bone mask of the ANBU male. They stared back with a blank intensity, one that told her that whoever it was, they were good at the whole covering up their emotions rule.

She on the other hand, knew she was being a classic example of what a shinobi shouldn't act like under any circumstances, but couldn't bring herself to care. Slowly, she nodded her acknowledgement to the 'faceless' man before her. "I understand." And just like that, the mystery guy was gone, presumably to fulfill any other tasks he had to do.

Inside, she felt her heart sink. Because the answer to the choice before her was obvious.

And she didn't want to make it.

* * *

><p>Black booted feet landed almost daintily on the ground without making so much as a sound despite the fact that they were fighting on gravel covered ground. Sakura grinned and settled herself into a defensive stance once more, ready for her blonde opponent to come at her. She had to admit, these sparring sessions with him were definitely helping to improve her skill with her wakizashi. Not by much since – according to Sasuke, anyway – she was downright hopeless, but she thought she was about mediocre with it now.<p>

Even though she was relatively close to all members of the Black Hawks, she spent most of her time with Konatsu. The two of them had become almost partners-in-crime with how much they stuck together, practically joined at the hip as Hyuuga liked to tease. Even Ayanami had, at some point, started intentionally giving them assignments that required them to work as a team. Neither one of them objected to the treatment they got from anyone, more because it was natural to agree than anything else. And sparring sessions, like the one the two were having right then, were just more proof.

The blonde grinned back at her from his five meter distance. "Keep your sword up, Sakura. It won't do you any good if it's pointed towards the ground."

She grinned back, shifting her grip on the hilt so that it was up in a standard ready position. "Whatever you say."

And he was lunging for her, starting yet another round of quick parries and side steps and attempts to hack each other to pieces. When he took a step forward, she took one back. When he aimed a stab at her abdomen, she turned sideways with retaliating upper cut. If he went for a slash across her chest, she used her own blade to block. It seemed that this had unofficially become a training session to teach her to block with her weapon and not her hands. They'd revisit her still quite abysmal attempts at attacking with her wakizashi another time.

The upside of being on a team like the Black Hawks, was that they weren't on the military's schedule. They could take as long a lunch or break as they wished, so long as they did everything they were supposed to. The Chief of Staff didn't truly care what they did so long as the paperwork was done and they weren't getting in trouble of any kind. And so the two of them had taken to sparring for an hour or so around lunch, improving each other depending on whatever combat tactics they were using that particular day.

After they came to some sort of halt, be it because one of them had won the match or because it was a draw, they would agree on somewhere to eat – loser's treat.

And it seemed this sparring session was going to end up with Konatsu winning. She couldn't say she minded though, not with how much fun she was having. Not to mention the fact that she was doing better than she thought she would be capable of anyway. Not more than a few blocks later, she found his blade nestled just beneath her chin, proving her observation true.

The rosette couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, match. Lunch is on me today."

An easy smile lit his face as he retreated, sheathing his katana once more. Following his lead, she tucked her small sword into the outer side of her leg, confident that only the hilt would be seen because of the length of her boots. For some reason, having the weight of a sharp metal object that was bigger than a dagger just didn't feel comfortable at her hip, and it wasn't like her alternative placement made it any harder to draw.

With that, the two of them were off, heading for town side by side. There was no specific place that they ate at, just so long as it sounded good or if the two of them were in the mood to try something new. Especially since they never took more than fifteen or thirty minutes to converse their way through lunch before returning to the office.

"You still haven't told me your secret to getting Hyuuga to do his work." Konatsu started as they entered some little café that caught Sakura's eye.

The green eyed young woman grinned toothily. "I can't imagine why that hasn't slipped." Out of habit she headed towards the left corner of the café, finding a booth that was by the window and not too far from the adjacent wall.

Amber eyes blinked at her then narrowed in an almost sulking manner. "You're not going to tell me." He settled into the seat across from her.

She laughed throatily, shaking her head enough that the free flowing strands of her hair went about the space around her. "That's why it's a secret."

Her companion laughed along with her, shaking his own blonde head, though for a completely different reason. "Not for long if I can help it." He paused, his eyes sharpening conspiratorially. "Unless, of course, you made a deal with Hyuuga."

She couldn't help but think that he knew her too well as she merely smiled back at him, aiming for the outlook of being indulgent but knowing he saw it as confirmation. Before she had to respond, a waitress stopped by the table, handing them both menus before asking what they wanted to drink. Konatsu asked for water while Sakura settled on coffee.

Sakura glanced at the menu, quickly finding what she wanted before setting it on the end of the small round table. Nearly as fast, Konatsu placed his own on top of hers. "Alright, how about your secret to working so well with the Chief?" She should have seen this slight change in the conversation coming; after all, Hyuuga always went hand-in-hand with the fearless leader of the Black Hawks.

She paused for a moment to thank the waitress who had set their drinks on the table. And then she proceeded to order what she wanted after Konatsu. When the lady was on her way again, she turned her attention back to her companion. "Well, to be honest, I've worked with people who have temperaments like his. One of my best friends was nearly the same way, so I guess it's just practiced reactions."

Amber eyes quickly zeroed in her, a clear inclination for her to keep going. "Really? I guess that would make sense, since I always figured Ayanami-sama was from a colder, stricter region."

Humming lightly she nodded. "I think so, too honestly." Ayanami reminded her a lot of Itachi, but instead of the darkness that came with Itachi's presence, she felt a lighter though no less authoritative aura from her Chief. It was almost like being caught in snowstorm when she was around him. "Though, I have to say, he's also different from the people I've known. I don't know how to explain it. I don't even know if there is a way to explain it."

The waitress came back with their plates and left with their thanks for the meal.

He graced her with a smile. "I know how that feels. Now I know why you never flinched or anything under his orders. Most of the begleiters he's had in the past don't usually last more than a few weeks."

"And I've lasted a whole four months." She concluded in a wry tone. But she wouldn't be here much longer, not when she had to get back. The very thought brought her mood down and so she pushed it away, burying it for a time when she was alone and didn't have to worry about someone noticing.

"I should have guessed Antwort would have somebody like him though."

She froze just as she was about to take a bit of her sandwich, but forced herself to continue as if she hadn't. He thought she was from Antwort? Granted she could see the logic behind it, but did that mean all of the Black Hawks thought that she was from there? A knot formed in her stomach, and she wasn't really sure how to deal with it or even how to proceed on it in general.

Taking a shaky breath, one she knew was louder than her usual innate silence but couldn't force it to normalcy. "Well, people like him are hard to come by." Suddenly, she really wanted out of this conversation.

And she was equally thankful that her blonde colleague seemed to pick up on that, and, without so much as a questioning glance, started on a new topic.

It was moments like these, with all the reminders, especially from Konatsu, that she fit right in and that she was happy here. Happy like she hadn't been in a long while.

But she knew she couldn't stay here.

* * *

><p>She felt like screaming and ripping her hair out, really she did. Instead she settled agitated, verdant eyes on the same black eyes she'd seen just days before. "I told you last time that I understand."<p>

The black eyes were intense, and if she didn't know better, she would think he was attempting to intimidate her. "Yet here you stand."

But the last thing she felt was cowed. After all, she had a record of dealing with very, _very_ imposing people who tended to be much more frightening to stare down. Hell, her own best friends were on that list. So, in typical Sakura fashion, she glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not finished here. I will return when my time limit is up." Which gave her roughly another few weeks before her maximum limit was breeched. Common sense told her sooner would be better because the longer she waited, the harder it would be to rip off the proverbial Band-Aid. But sheer stubbornness in the face of one of Danzo's cronies had a certain effect that made her forget that she had any political training whatsoever, and that tended to mean common sense was out the window from the get go.

Those blank eyes narrowed marginally and she felt triumphant at having goaded a reaction. Okay, so agitating the Root members also made her a tad childish, but it's not like she was expected to act like a level-headed, reasonable adult all the time. Especially since last she checked she was still in her teens. Being a shinobi who had seen and participated in war did not count in her book.

"Finish quickly then. If you aren't done in time you will be forcibly taken back to Konoha. Is that clear?"

Sakura scowled at him, forcing down her inner Naruto as she did so, because making crack comments about sentence length wasn't going to get her anywhere. Nor would her bullheaded indignation about being ordered around like a child. "Crystal." That didn't mean that she couldn't be spiteful, however. And she took savage pleasure in the way her following saccharine sweet smile alone made the masked man lean back a fragment of a centimeter. Two reactions in one conversation, that had to be a record with the robot-Roots.

And once more the man vanished into thin air. She still felt like screaming, but being in a hallway, even an empty one, preempted that possibility. The rose-haired teen settled for huffing and letting her arms drop to her sides. Then she proceeded to shove away her irritation because she still had to get to the office and what with her now being late, delaying further or entering with a negative aura didn't seem the best of ideas. The only thing that was going to make her feel better right then was talking to someone from the Black Hawks, preferably Konatsu.

With the thought in mind that the day was still just beginning, she headed for the Black Hawk public office in confident smooth strides, forcing the confrontation just moments before out of her mind. Easier said than done, but all those years of shinobi training hadn't been for nothing.

"Sakura~" Instead of stopping at the familiar voice, she merely glanced over her shoulder to see Hyuuga hurrying towards her with his ever-present cheerful grin. Once he was beside her, he slowed his pace to match hers as he greeted her good morning.

She smiled back at him, finding her frustration from just moments before begin to fade rapidly. "Good morning, Major Hyuuga." Despite his many protests over the months, she had insisted on addressing him by his proper title. Unbeknownst to him, she did so only to remind herself at every possible turn that she couldn't remain here.

"You're later than usual." It took a few days to get used to how he always hummed in the mornings, as if the entire world were in a constant state of merriment or something. And then she learned that Hyuuga was not by any means a morning person, and the only thing that truly got him up in the morning was Ayanami, even though said man refused to actually make sure his Major was in the office at the time he was supposed to. Now she realized that even though he got up a whole two hours later than he was supposed to on any given day and clocked in at least another hour after that, he did so as part of a game. And like the game that both the Konoha and Suna elders and councilmen indulged in back home, it tended to play like a long, drawn out version of Poke the Powerful Leader Until He or She Snaps. This game usually proved to be highly amusing, provided there was at least a foot of chakra- or zaiphon-proof glass or some other barrier that was just as safe and transparent.

Sakura made a show of yawning before sending him a secretive smile. "It's just one of those mornings." As far as she was concerned, the vagueness of her statement allowed her to get away with that as the truth. Over the last few months, she had learned to choose her words in a way that could be construed as truthful for the sake of not telling lies to lie-detectors in human flesh. She'd learned the hard way that the Black Hawks were just as astute and all-knowing as the Akatsuki had been and she had no wish to put herself in a predicament that could be avoided by simply not lying.

Again he hummed, pulling out a sucker and sticking it in his mouth as he did so. He tipped his head toward her and she could just barely see the blue eyes behind his black sunglasses, but she didn't need to see them to know they were twinkling in that iconic way they normally did. "We'd better hurry then. Aya-tan won't be happy they we're both late."

Though Sakura laughed agreeably, neither made to walk any faster than the pace they were going.

* * *

><p>When Sakura entered the office, she fully expected for the Chief of Staff to make his displeasure about both her and the Major being late known in some minute way. Instead she was greeted with the sight of Konatsu looking up to see who had entered, and when he saw them he smiled brightly. And like any of his smiles it got her heart going, making her want to smile back just as brightly. The kunoichi had always been the type of person who was only happy when she knew those close to her were safe and happy themselves. It was yet another reminder that she had gotten too attached, made the mistake of getting closer than she wanted to walk away from. But right then, she didn't want to think about that; she had less than a month until Danzo's men would make good on their word and that was the only thing she would let herself think about right then.<p>

Quickly organizing the papers he'd been working on, the blonde soldier hurried over to them in a manner that only a well-trained and deadly militant could while still having a bit of a bounce in his step. He stopped just pace in front of them, his eyes falling on her first but addressing his superior first. Hyuuga merely waited patiently with knowing eyes that clearly twinkled behind his dark sunglasses. It didn't give Sakura any more pause than it usually did. After all, she knew that there was something deep and personal between this dark-haired man and her own direct superior, so in the best of circumstances, the knowledge that he knew there was possibly something more than friendship between her and the blonde couldn't be a disadvantage. Though that was assuming it would be used against her, and she knew there was a very slim chance of that ever happening.

"Major, please keep an eye on the office and _get work done_." It was comical the way Hyuuga's sunglasses slide down the bridge of his nose to reveal confounded blue eyes. The amusement was amplified at because of the fact that his reaction had nothing to do with Konatsu's forceful tone and everything to do with the prospect of the black-haired man doing paperwork or work in general.

Only once he was certain that his message was understood did he return amber eyes to her. His lips twitched further upward. "Ayanami-sama wants you and I to go into the city to complete an assignment." She nodded immediately, more than willing to do as told without even knowing what they would be doing. And with her acceptance, the two of them turned to head for the door ignoring their superior like only a member of the Black Hawks was wont to. She had no doubt this was the only team in all of the Barsburg military that got away with stunts like this, and it was undoubtedly because the Chief of Staff only cared that his orders were followed and assignments completed efficiently.

"Aww, but Konatsu-kun~ let me come with you~" Neither teenager turned or even acknowledged that their fully-grown Major was whining like a petulant child to get out of the 'horrible' situation he suddenly found himself in. It took effort to bottle her bubbling amusement and even harder was not looking at Konatsu because she knew if she did she would see her mirth mirrored back to her, and then she wouldn't be able to refrain from cracking up.

Once they were out the door with it shut firmly behind them, they continued to walk at a mock-brusque pace until the end of the hall where they proceeded to fall against each other so as to stay standing as they laughed. It felt so good to be able to laugh so lightheartedly; it was one of the reasons she loved being here. She could laugh and smile freely without feeling the pain of loss and guilt and regret that followed making it through a war. Gradually their laughter died down, though not before receiving a handful of wary of condescending looks for their behavior. And once they had a grip on themselves, they straightened to their respective heights and tugged their uniforms back into place. Before either of them began walking, they glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes and proceeded to grin.

Idly Sakura noticed how they had acted in complete sync, like twins or soul mates. They reacted to each other in the same way two halves of a whole behaved in the presence of one another. And like every other relationship that she had built, she pushed away the inevitable consequences that would follow when she had to leave. For now she was still resolved to enjoy her time here, to cherish every moment that she'd been blissfully granted.

After another few hallways of companionable silence she spoke up, "So what's our assignment?"

* * *

><p>With the sound of the door shutting behind the two teenagers, the pout on Major Hyuuga's face quickly turned to seriousness without his ever-present grin leaving his countenance. It seemed he had some very important news for his Chief to know about said man's newest begleiter. The black-haired man was honestly disappointed that the young Haruno would choose to leave them and especially that she was clearly doing so like a traitor. Certainly, Aya-tan could be formidable and overwhelming, but she'd lasted longer than a handful days and that was much more than so many before her after Yukimaru could claim. It was disheartening to see the woman who had been able to cope to being a 'captive' and last a month with the Black Hawks with no trouble at all. She was really a valuable soldier.<p>

One Hyuuga knew Ayanami had no intention of letting go since the moment she was able to hold her own past a few seconds in a battle with the powerful Chief of Staff. But they could not and would not put up with anyone, no matter how talented or able to fit in, who proved to have a detrimental hidden agenda.

He turned on black-booted feet to head for the door, and ultimately for Aya-tan. He had a superior to get under the skin of.

A half hour and an aggravated lavender-eyed soldier later found the two of them at a table full high ranking officials. There was only one man at the table whom Hyuuga knew Ayanami didn't find an utter waste of his time, and with him curiously absent his beloved superior's mood had gone from idly agitated to downright agitated. The black-haired subordinate had sought to ease his Aya-tan by standing as close as he could without rousing any suspicion from the other men at the table. And it was gratifying when his close proximity did just that, especially after the way the shorter man's mood had spiked angrily at the knowledge that he there was an unmistakable chance he and the rest of the Black Hawks had misjudged Haruno Sakura's loyalty. Perhaps he shouldn't have teased his superior before telling him that bit of knowledge, only to end up here listening to people he normally didn't pay any more attention to than he had to argue about who had picked up a Antwort spy as a sklave.

Still Ayanami remained the ever studious and expressionless Chief of Staff throughout the drawn-out hour-long meeting. Staying patient and calm throughout the absurd arguments, he waited silently until he was able to stand and leave. None of the other officials bothered to keep him a moment longer and Hyuuga was only too happy to get out of the room.

Once they had made it to one of the many empty long corridors that lead to the Black Hawk's office, the Major lengthened his strides until he was side-by-side with his superior and then proceeded to throw his arm around the slimmer man's shoulders. Violet eyes shot him a warning look but otherwise, the white-haired man made no move to shrug his counterparts arm away. The lack of reaction to the obvious public display of affection worried the taller soldier slightly. But he wasn't above taking advantage of the situation.

"Aya-tan~" He didn't follow up the informal address with any statement or question, something that normally irritated the powerful Chief.

However, the other male didn't miss a beat as he continued with his long silent strides. "Sakura will have to be dealt with accordingly."

It saddened Hyuuga to know what consequences could await the pink-haired begleiter if she couldn't honestly convince Ayanami she couldn't be held accountable for acts of espionage. But he didn't see any way for her to dispute her priorities as far as who she was loyal to. Even if that masked man had mentioned forcefully bringing her back. Back to Antwort. In the back of his mind, he also remembered how Sakura had tried to refuse being Ayanami's begleiter or even going anywhere near the Barsburg army. But she hadn't had any problems with them personally.

She had dug herself quite an interesting grave it seemed.

Hyuuga knew his companion had considered all of these facts at least a dozen times already. And by the look of the white-haired man, he had already made up his mind about what course of action to take next.

* * *

><p>Neither of them was truly paying attention to the hallways as they turned cornered and passed so many doorways. This path was so familiar to even Sakura, that there simply wasn't a need to pay attention to where they were headed. Only the periodic night guard and stay official hurrying to wrap up work before the day was actually over were moving about as they made their way to the Black Hawks' office.<p>

Ayanami worked around the clock with barely even three hours of off time, and in accordance the rest of the team had learned to do their jobs during odd hours. So the fact that it was almost midnight didn't change the fact that both the blonde and rosette still had a report to turn in for the assignment they'd started that afternoon. After all, it wasn't like they hadn't done this multiple times before.

The assignment itself had been simple but time consuming; Konatsu had stated that any other office would have taken at least three days. Even so, Sakura was more than ready to simply go home and take a nice, long hot bath and then get some shuteye. Turning her head, she sent her companion a smile.

Amber eyes were bright, though tired. "After this we can go home." The length of the day had settled into his shoulders in minor hints that only months of being around him allowed her to see. His stride was just as long and solid as ever, and his head was held high as though it were still midday and he had things to do. But she could see the fatigue in his form, the distinct want to simply retire for the day in his slightly heavier footfalls.

She nodded and laughed softly, but still the sound echoed through the silent halls. "Bath, food and bed sound divine right now."

He blinked at her, seeming slightly thrown. "Interesting choice of words."

She hummed in curiosity, not saying anything outstanding about the turn of phrase she'd used. It was rare when she used words like divine, certainly but she was continually confounded by the reactions she got from every member of the Black Hawks besides Ayanami. As far as she was concerned, they were just words.

Shinobi didn't tend to live longer than their mid- to late-twenties; it was just an occupational hazard that was generally accepted in some way or another by all ninja. After countless years and even a war of living every second knowing that she could end up dead, Sakura had never bothered to contemplate death past the actual act itself. It didn't matter to her if death was the end or if there was something after; in that same respect she wasn't about to waste time wondering what came before conception and birth. So words like 'divine' and 'heaven' and 'afterlife' had never really held any real meaning to her because they had simply never been relevant.

She thought to respond, but they were already meters away from the office twin doors and she decided that any further conversation could wait until they'd both been dismissed and could head home for a handful or two of hours. And then she could start all over again. A fact she'd enjoyed over the past few months, and had tried to ignore just how little time she had left to continue enjoying it.

Sakura chuckled softly and rolled her eyes when Konatsu made a show of opening the door for her and bowing at the waist like a fancy butler. Without so much as a comment about his silliness, she strolled past him, more than tempted to play the part of a stuck-up royal. But the fact that she was walking into the Black Hawks' office with Ayanami undoubtedly inside was more than enough to quill the urge; it would simply have to wait for their entrance to another room.

It didn't really surprise her to see that Ayanami was at his desk, and definitely didn't surprise her that most of the team wasn't there either. What did surprise her to some degree was that Hyuuga was still there, draping his body over the Chief's in a clear attempt to get under the calm man's skin. By the mild irritation on the pale-haired man's face, he was doing a pretty damn good job of it.

Upon their entrance, both men looked up and without so much as a last glance at his Major, Ayanami shrugged the man off his shoulders before beckoning Sakura and Konatsu forward. They did as indicated immediately, Konatsu leaning forward slightly to hand over the report which their superior subsequently set down to the left of his arms.

A nodded of thanks to Konatsu had the blonde nodding back understandingly, and before he turned on his heel to get going, he sent Hyuuga a wary though curious look and Sakura found herself on the recieving end of a warm smile that made her legs feel like jello. It left her speechless enough that he was able to leave the room with the door sliding closed behind before she remember there were still two other people in the office and she hadn't been dismissed.

Turning her head, she met her kidnapper's gaze head-on, mildly curious as to why she was still standing here. Now that she wasn't beside Konatsu with home and sleep on her mind, she could see the telltale signs of tenseness and stress. Their shoulders were set and backs straight; Ayanami's eyes were harder than normal, and even Hyuuga's carefree grin was worn and worried.

After a long moment of tense silence, the man before her finally opened his mouth. "There will be a hawkziel to pick you up tomorrow."

Her first thought was why. Canting her head slightly, she gave him a suspicious look. "Do I have a dangerous assignment?" It was the only plausible explanation she could see that had any possibility of fitting their unusual behavior.

Hyuuga shook his head before his other half could respond, earning himself a sharp look for his trouble. Feeling more and more wary, she glanced between the two. "Chief, Major," she paused, trying to find the proper words to explain her unease about the stiff atmosphere they were doing a wonderful job of creating. "Is there something wrong?"

Violet eyes returned to her, darkened and intense as he pinned her with an unforgiving expression. "You are going back to Antwort." She froze at the declaration. Back to Anwort. That could mean one thing and one thing only. Her mind raced as she tried to figure how and why and when. But there were just too many blanks and not enough clues. Her quick mind came to a dead halt with his next uncompromising statement. "You are no longer useful."


End file.
